25
Tried butter vs shortening in my pie crust recipe and wow what a difference
I always used shortening for my apple pies because that's what my mom did, but last weekend I swapped in cold butter for a test batch. The butter crust came out flaky and actually tasted like something instead of just being greasy and bland. Has anyone else had better luck with one over the other for fruit pies?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
sarah5311mo ago
Blew my mind the first time I swapped too, lol. I grew up on shortening crusts and thought they were perfect until I tried butter and realized I'd been missing out my whole life. @mark361 is spot on about the cinnamon and butter thing especially for apple pies, it's like they were made for each other. I actually tried a half butter half shortening mix once and it was pretty solid too, got the flakiness from the butter and the tenderness from the shortening but honestly now I just go full butter. The only problem I ran into was the butter leaking out a bit in the oven but that's probably cause I didn't chill the dough long enough before baking.
4
the_morgan1mo ago
Notice this same pattern everywhere once you look for it. People just sticking with what they grew up on because that's "normal," not because it's actually best. Like mayonnaise vs butter on grilled cheese. Ketchup on hot dogs. Whole milk vs 2%. We're creatures of habit more than we want to admit. Butter in pie crust is just one tiny example of a huge thing.
5
Yeah, that "actually tasted like something" part really hits home. I went through the same thing a few years back. Shortening makes a tender crust, sure, but it's basically flavorless fat. Butter adds that richness you can't fake. My tip is to grate frozen butter into the flour with a box grater, then toss it with a fork before adding ice water. Keeps the butter in small chunks without melting it from your hands. For apple pie especially, that butter flavor pairs way better with the cinnamon and sugar. Only downside is you gotta work faster so the butter doesn't soften on you.
2